Friday, February 24, 2017

When “Logan”hits theaters on March 3, it will mark the tenth installment in
the “X-Men”movie franchise as well
as the final performance from Hugh Jackman in his signature role of the
Wolverine. That being said, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look
back on the series as a whole and rank the films in ascending order of
preference. With the release of the original “X-Men”movie at the turn of the century, it is fair to say that this
franchise really kick started the modern superhero genre as we know it today.
For well over fifteen years now, the series has continued to pump out quality
movies with plenty more productions in the works. When you couple that with a
worldwide box office haul of $4.3 billion and counting, this has to be
considered one of the most successful superhero franchises of all time. With
some truly awesome trailers and a well deserved “R” rating for Hugh Jackman’s
sendoff for the series, I have high hopes that “Logan”will be one of the best “X-Men”movies yet. Without further ado, this is how the films stack up for me at
this point in time:

9. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (PG-13)

Run Time: 104 mins

Director: Brett Ratner (2006)

My Rating: 5/10

Brian Singer’s absence was clearly felt in
this weak third installment of the original “X-Men”trilogy. Most of the cast was held intact and they all delivered
decent performances, but the strong storytelling of the first two movies just
wasn’t there this time around. There are a handful of decent action sequences
throughout the film but aside from that, “The Last Stand”doesn’t really have much going for it in my opinion. This is an
easy choice for me, when it comes to choosing my least favorite chapter in the “X-Men”
franchise.

8. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (PG-13)

Run Time: 107 mins

Director: Gavin Hood (2009)

My Rating: 6.5/10

Many people may have this at the bottom of
their own rankings, but I give “Origins”a
few guilty pleasure points here. Wolverine is one of my favorite characters
ever, so for that reasons alone - this movie is a little more watchable to me.
This film definitely has a lot of problems (as pointed out in 2016’s “Deadpool”),
but there are at least some fun action scenes over the course of the run time.
Nevertheless, this still really missed the mark on a potentially badass
storyline.

7. “The Wolverine” (PG-13)

Run Time: 126 mins

Director: James Mangold (2013)

My Rating: 7/10

Sadly, I don’t think that the second “Wolverine”
standalone movie is much better than the first. Hugh Jackman delivers another
great performance in his signature role of the title character; and there are a
few really awesome action sequence scenes including the bullet train sequence.
I thought that the ending was poorly executed, but overall, this is still a
respectable movie. Hopefully “Logan”will
complete this “Wolverine”trilogy
with the film we all deserve.

6. “X-Men” (PG-13)

Run Time: 104 mins

Director: Bryan Singer (2000)

My Rating: 7.5/10

The one that started it all, “X-Men”does not get the credit it deserves for
truly marking the beginning of a new era, in the now dominant, genre of
superhero movies. The visuals have held up pretty well over the years, but it
is the now iconic cast featuring Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen,
Halle Berry, and others - that really form the heart of this movie. That,
coupled with exciting action and a funny script, makes “X-Men”a modern classic of the superhero
genre.

5. “X-Men: First Class” (PG-13)

Run Time: 132 mins

Director: Matthew Vaughn (2011)

My Rating: 9/10

After the letdowns of “The Last Stand” and
Origins, “First Class” brought the “X-Men” franchise back to life in a big way.
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender played a huge part in doing this through
their spot-on portrayals of the young versions of Professor X and Magneto,
respectively. This reboot/prequel is a blast of an action movie and offers an
excellent ensemble origin story. On top of all of that, this features my
favorite movie cameo of all time by none other than the Wolverine.

4. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (PG-13)

Run Time: 132 mins

Director: Bryan Singer (2014)

My Rating: 9/10

Bryan Singer’s return to the film franchise he
started, certainly payed off in a big way. Combining the ensemble casts of the
new and original trilogies, this features some of the best acting talent of any
superhero movie. The complex, time-travelling storyline here is a lot to take
in, but in the end, “Days of Future Past”actually managed to fix some of the problems created by the series’ weaker
installments. Most fans would agree this led to one of the best installments
yet.

3. “X2”

Run Time: 134 mins

Director: Bryan Singer (2003)

My Rating: 9/10

After “X-Men”set the groundwork for this series, this movie brought everything
to a whole new level in the form of what remains one of the greatest comic book
sequels of all time. In fact, at one point in time, you could argue that “X2”was the singular greatest superhero
film ever made. This movie features a perfect blend of humor, action and darker
storytelling as most sequels strive to do. I would also add, that the opening
scene of “Nightcrawler” attacking the White House is still one of the best
superhero scenes ever filmed.

2. “Deadpool” (R)

Run Time: 108 mins

Director: Tim Miller (2016)

My Rating: 9/10

A project ten years in the making; it was so
satisfying to see Ryan Reynolds do justice to the title role he was born to
play. More than just a superhero flick, “Deadpool”is completely violent, absolutely hilarious, and everything else
in between. Raunchy and certainly not for everybody - this movie totally makes
fun of the genre and even the series which it is a part of. “Deadpool”is perhaps the most unique superhero film ever and a close second on this
tight list.

1. “X-Men: Apocalypse” (PG-13)

Run Time: 144 mins

Director: Bryan Singer (2016)

My Rating: 9/10

As you may be able to tell from the equal
ratings towards the top of this list, my top five “X-Men”movies are honestly sort of a toss-up for me. Even though it is
not the most critically acclaimed of the series, “Apocalypse”is still my favorite of the bunch right
now. I think that the cast
is at its best, the visuals are outstanding; and overall, Bryan Singer
delivered the most epic contribution of the “X-Men”franchise to date with this movie. Wolverine’s five minute cameo rampage
is also one of my favorite scenes in the entire series.

Friday, February 17, 2017

"John Wick: Chapter 2"is
a new action movie and a follow up to the 2014 original, "John Wick." Chad Stahelski (Keanu Reeves’ stunt double for the Matrix trilogy) returns to direct, with
Reeves once again portraying the title character. These two guys are amongst
Hollywood’s best stunt workers, as clearly exemplified by the plethora of
quality, entertaining, action sequences in each of these movies. The supporting
cast of "Chapter 2" features Ian
McShane, reprising his role as Winston, alongside some newcomers - including
musical icon Common, as well as Laurence Fishburne. This film marks the first
time that Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne have acted together since their
work on the "Matrix"trilogy.

"John Wick: Chapter 2"gets
off to a quick start, picking up just shortly after the events of its
predecessor. Early on in the movie, John Wick returns to the criminal
underworld in order to pay off a debt. Soon, he realizes that a large bounty
has been placed on his head, so he must put his skills to work and defend
himself. Similar to the first movie, "Chapter
2"features a rather straightforward story and has a ton of great surprises
and plot twists, making it another exciting film experience.

I wouldn’t say that John Wick had it
easy in the first movie, but "Chapter 2"definitely
raises the stakes in a big way, making him seem more vulnerable as a character.
This is just what any good action sequel should do - in order to successfully
expand upon a storyline. In addition to that, this film has even better action
sequences than the original, which is really quite the accomplishment.

The rest of Hollywood should take
note, because the "John Wick" movies
are practically a blueprint of how to succeed in a genre that has become a
little sloppy over the past few years. These films understand that action
movies are supposed to be fun and sometimes cheesy; they do not try to be
overly dark or too grounded in reality. There haven’t been too many action films
that have done this in the 21st century and that might be the best thing that
the "John Wick"series has going for
it. Any fan of the genre should check out"Chapter 2"in theaters. Unlike other action sequels (I’m looking at you: "Taken 2") this was just as good as the
original and absolutely deserves a third installment.

Friday, February 10, 2017

With
John Wick: Chapter 2 hitting theaters
this weekend, it seems like an appropriate time to look back on Keanu Reeves’
most iconic movie, The Matrix.
Released in 1999, The Matrix was
written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers. In a year that was supposed to
be highlighted by Star Wars: Episode I - The
Phantom Menace, this movie ending up standing out as one the best
science-fiction films of the entire decade, taking home all four of the Academy
Awards which it was nominated for.

Being
one of my favorite movies, I truly think that The Matrix is an incredible first time film experience. I am
keeping my plot summary spoiler-free, for the sake of anyone who has not seen
this masterpiece yet.

In
The Matrix, Keanu Reeves plays a
computer programmer named John Anderson who lives a double life as a skilled
hacker known as Neo. Early on in the story, he learns dark secrets about our world
from a mysterious group of rebels and quickly joins their undercover alliance.

This
movie is well-known for its mind boggling visual effects that set the bar for
every action movie that has come ever since. Before The Matrix, the famous “bullet time effect” was never heard of in
Hollywood. This is a slow motion technique in which the viewpoint camera still
appears to be moving at a normal speed. For reasons that include these
incredible innovations, The Matrix is
widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made and even
holds the eighteenth spot on the Best Films List, as rated by users of the
Internet Movie Database.

Beyond
all of those accomplishments, I think that The
Matrix is still a film powered by a truly awesome, ambitious story. Yes,
the famous action sequences are amazing to watch over and over again, but the
intriguing plot is what really makes this movie so great. Keanu Reeves,
Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving and the rest of the iconic cast, crafted some
memorable characters through their above average acting performances and really
make this unique story come to life. I

If you haven’t had a chance to re-watch or
even see The Matrix for the first
time, check it out before seeing John
Wick: Chapter 2 this weekend. Keanu Reeves has kicked ass so far in his new
action series, but this is the revolutionary movie that started it all.

Friday, February 3, 2017

John Wick is a 2014 action film and the first
directorial effort by Chad Stahelski, a veteran stunt coordinator who actually
doubled for Keanu Reeves in the Matrix trilogy.
Ironically, Reeves also stars as the title character in this movie. The
supporting cast includes Michael Nyqvist, Game
of Thrones’ Alfie Allen (aka Theon Greyjoy), Ian McShane and Willem Dafoe.
It is worth pointing out that each of those actors has played an impressive
villain at some point in their career and they have all delivered strong
performances yet again, in their various roles in this movie.

I think it
is more than fair to say, that all of the talent involved in this relatively
low-budget production of John Wick came
together to make a pretty awesome action movie. I can’t believe that I missed
this when it first hit theaters two years ago; but looking back, I would say
that thishas got to be one of the
most underrated films of what was a strong year for cinema in 2014.

John Wick
(Keanu Reeves) is a former mob hit man who retired when he fell in love with
his wife. Unfortunately, she passed away from illness just five years later,
but she arranged for a puppy to be left with John in order to make him feel
less lonely. Early on in the movie, a group of gangsters break into John’s
house, steal his vintage ‘69 Mustang and end up killing his new dog in the
process. Naturally, John Wick decides to come out of retirement, with a
vengeance, to track down the gangsters who did this to him.

John Wick is not a perfect film, but the straightforward
plot and self-aware/over-the-top fight scenes, reminds us how action films
should be made. This is a very re-watchable movie that has easily become one of
my favorites that this genre has produced during the last decade or so. Keanu
Reeves delivers his best performance since the original Matrix movie and completely kicks ass as the title character. The
story here is simple enough to enjoy but also has a surprising amount of
emotional scenes and strong acting. John
Wick is just a blast of a movie that shouldn’t be missed by anybody who
simply loves a fun, entertaining, action film. Hopefully Chapter 2 will build upon this overlooked success when it hits theaters
next weekend.